Understanding Our Purpose
Understanding Our Purpose
Have you invested your time and energy only to wonder, “What’s the point?” Sometimes we may invest in the wrong place, or the timing may be off. We may experience disappointment after working towards a misrepresented outcome or a vision that was never ours to begin with. Regardless, it’s a terrible feeling to invest our time and energy into an outcome that lacks meaningful purpose. Setbacks and inconveniences are easier to endure with a clear motivating purpose. Purpose gives meaning to small behaviors like eating healthy foods to promote better energy, tidying our office to improve our focus, or silencing our phones to connect more deeply during family time. It will influence our smallest behaviors and biggest decisions. Understanding our ultimate purpose will lead us to who we are meant to become, creating a beautiful ripple effect that impacts everyone in our lives.
Seeds of Potential
Our purpose is straightforward and universal for all. Our ultimate purpose is to become who God created us to be. Understanding how our creator sees us will revolutionize how we see ourselves. We tend to overcomplicate things, especially those we don’t understand. Our calling, vision, and values are personalized and unique, but the ultimate purpose of our time here is pretty much the same for everyone. The best decision we can make during our journey of becoming is to stay connected to our source. Developing a deep relationship and love for our creator helps us understand our purpose. As our creator, he’s the only one who we should allow to define or label us. Throughout history, we see God choosing ill-equipped, unlikely candidates to execute his plan.
Moses: a murderer with a speech impediment rescues his people from slavery
Rahab: a pagan prostitute in enemy territory becomes part of our Savior’s genealogy
Gideon: a lowly coward leads a successful attack against a massive army
Matthew: a traitorous tax collector joins the trusted inner circle of Jesus
Paul: a brutal Jewish persecutor of Christians spreads the gospel to the Gentiles
Our vision of who we are purposed to become is distorted beyond recognition by our brokenness, but our gracious God reveals the seeds of potential sown within us as we diligently seek him. Seeking God’s will for our lives is the only way to fathom what we can become, and it’s still nearly impossible to grasp. We glorify God by allowing his power to work through us as we surrender our weaknesses, failures, and shortcomings. Our purpose is simple and universal for all, to become who God created us to be.
Water Seeds of Potential
I’ve been told that I greet strangers like I know them. I try to be the person in the group that makes others feel included. I want people to feel better after spending a few minutes with me. I wasn’t always like that. I’m very tall and my face is naturally *ahem* pensive, which can create an intimidating effect. Several years ago during a work conference, we had to buddy up with a stranger. After we finished, my buddy circled back to tell me I was much kinder than expected. Her friends felt bad when she was matched with me because my face and body language communicated that I was uninterested in talking to anyone. Ouch, I didn’t realize my low confidence was so widely misinterpreted by the room. I decided I wouldn’t make it about myself anymore in these situations. When I walk into a room my focus becomes encouraging and building others up. I want people to leave my presence feeling seen and encouraged, and I’m not waiting for others to initiate these interactions. We faithfully water seeds of potential when we courageously drop our defenses to love and serve others well.
Becoming Optimal, not Perfect
Have you stumbled across any perfect people lately? Yeah, me neither. There no are perfect people. Jesus came to the world, lived a perfect life, sacrificed himself in our place, and conquered sin and death. That mission is complete, which frees us up to use our energy to aim for a target that actually exists for us. It doesn’t surprise God when we fall short of the mark. Honestly, it may be a clue that we are unchallenged and stagnant if we aren’t asking God for guidance too many days in a row. This life should be fulfilling because of, not despite, challenging growth. Becoming the best version of ourselves requires a margin for grace and mercy.
Releasing Our Old “Best”
We never run out of room when our target is to become optimal because our best should be changing every new season. Ideally, we get better, but I’d be doing a disservice if I didn’t acknowledge that sometimes our new best can feel like a loss. The spring before my open heart surgery, I was saving my dollars, training intensely, and preparing supplies for the Appalachian trail hike I planned to complete before my twentieth birthday. After completing the hike, my best friend and I planned to move to Colorado and pick our next adventure from there. Everything changed that spring. The unexpected surgery may have derailed my plans, but the bigger impact was on my identity. I was a free-spirited, nature-loving wanderer who wanted to experience the world. Now my life was tethered. My schedule revolved around doctors' appointments and my home was tied to the proximity of comprehensive cardiac care specialists. I couldn’t climb a flight of stairs, much less Springer Mountain. This didn’t feel like the “best” version of my story. It usually doesn’t in the middle. As I grieved this part of my lost identity, I remembered who I was at my core. I was adventurously curious and fiercely persistent. I was a courageous dreamer with a resolute work ethic to back it up. I found hints of beauty and potential everywhere and shared them with others. These pieces were part of who I was, living out of a backpack was just a hobby. Holding tightly to our perfect plans can distract us from determining what is optimal for this season. I love that there’s always room to refine, optimize, and improve our best. It’s incredible to realize our creator always has more in store for us when we’re ready, and sometimes a little before. We never want to settle for our perfect plans at the expense of pursuing God’s best.
Fulfilling Our Purpose
Purpose is not a specific goal that can be tracked with a detailed timeline. I know, because I’ve tried. Rather it’s the resolve to fulfill our ever-evolving, ever-expanding potential. Our thoughts, words, and behaviors shape the person we are becoming. We should inventory what we feed our spirits, minds, and bodies. What are the accessible and habitual items in our metaphorical (or physical) pantries? Are they helping or hindering us? Our daily mundane decisions are a vote towards the person we are becoming. Let’s align these decisions with who God says we can be by asking the Holy Spirit to embolden us as we powerfully step into our true identity, for which Jesus’ sacrifice paid in full. Fulfillment of our purpose is experienced when we know and work optimally towards becoming who God called us to be.
How can you step into purpose today?
Seek God and His vision for who we are created to become
Accept the grace and mercy of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice
Align with our identity empowered by the Holy Spirit
Faith Encouragement:
Psalm 139:16 - Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Viktor Frankl - “Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.”
Abraham Maslow - “Musicians must make music, artists must paint, poets must write if they are to ultimately be at peace with themselves. What human beings can be, they must be.”
Maya Angelou - "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."